1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structure of wheel rim cover, especially for the wheel rim cover whose appearance is similar to the wheel rim outer surface and whose structure is suitable for covering on the outer surface of the wheel rim, positioned for mounting via on the wheel rim.
2. Description of the Related Art
The traditional steel rim for mounting car tires has been replaced by aluminum alloy rim gradually. Traditional steel rims normally have a convex-concave reinforcing design disc outer surface. However, aluminum alloy rims are usually made by pressing aluminum alloy material as a whole body, and processing the body to the designed shape. Normally, for saving aluminum alloy material, the outer surface would be formed with many esthetic spokes and openings between the spokes. For covering a bad-looking surface, a traditional steel rim would have many wheel cover designs for covering its surface. Normally, the wheel cover covered on the rim has different design from that of the rim. As shown on the FIG. 1, mainly, fasteners 11 which sit at the back side of the disc 1 and are supported by spring ring 12 are used to engage up the inner circumference edge 14 of a specific concave arc of the rim 13. However, since an aluminum alloy wheel rim has its own esthetic features, a wheel cover would not normally be used.
Nevertheless, because an aluminum alloy wheel rim is made as a single body formed from aluminum alloy, after being hit by a flying stone run over by a speeding car, scrapes will make the rim lose its shiny appearance. The only solution is to replace the four aluminum alloy wheel rims. This is costly. The traditional wheel cover of a steel wheel rim is not suitable for being adopted on the aluminum alloy wheel rim, since there is no specific concave inner circumference edge for supporting the fasteners on the wheel cover.
One design of an overlay, called electroplate skin, has been adopted on the jeep or station wagon wheel rim, which is bigger and has a sunken surface, such as the case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,973, titled “Method for compensating for tolerance variations between an overlay and wheel assembly”. It is formed by plastic and electroplated with shiny surface covering material. By means of adhesive applied between covering material and the surface of a steel wheel rim or aluminum alloy wheel rim which is to be covered, the covering material can stick on the wheel rim and the electroplated surface of the covering material can decorate the wheel rim. This method is pretty ideal, but the processes needs professional techniques and equipment; general drivers cannot implement the job. Besides, after being treated with adhesive between covering material and the surface of wheel rim, when the covering material is scraped, the covering material would not be able to be disassembled. This means that only one time of replacement can be done. Hence, the practicability is not ideal.